Chapter 40 Harper 36 55 vouchers "What? No way," Grayson said. "Why would I divorce her?" He poked his cheek like he was actually offended by what I said. How my heart would've leaped for joy had that been the case, but there had been so many times when he could've done that, yet he still chose her. "All I told her was I'd leave her in our bedroom since I couldn't stand her," he said. "She hates it when I'm mad at her." "Look, I know you said she's totally cool with this, but I'm still not buying it and if it turns out I'm right, then I'd rather not be friends with you because-" He quickly placed his hand over my mouth to shut me up, bringing his face real close. "Don't ever say shit like that again, Harp. Got it?" Fuck, seeing him like that made my heart skip a beat. I nodded, my gaze dropping to his gorgeous lips that now smelled like whiskey. "Good," he said quietly. "Dropping his hand from my lips, he leaned back with a heavy sigh. "I can't lose you, Harp. If I'm being honest, the past few years haven't been particularly easy." I drank from my bottle. "How come? I thought you had it real good. You and your family worked hard even after making highly profitable investments. Now you even run your own company and have achieved that billionaire status. Back in junior high school, I would've never thought you'd reach such heights. You did great." "While you're right about that part, I had no one to talk to." "I was only a phone call away," I reminded him. He gave a half smile. "I know, but everything was just different after our graduation, especially with the way you left. It just wasn't the same anymore. You weren't there-" "I was always there," I tightened the grip on the bottle neck, "but I just didn't want to complicate things and college was right on time." "I had so much to tell you, so much to share with you and I thought about you. I really did." I lowered my head with a sigh. "But you just never felt like sharing with me in the end. I mean, why would you? Tiffany was right there." 16:05 Tue, Sep 16 Chapter 40 "Actually, no." I raised my head. "What do you mean?" : 36 55 vouchers He paused with the glass in his hand. "Tiffany was the only girlfriend I ever had. Before she came into my life, it was just me and my best friend." He proudly glanced at me and I had to force a smile. "Yeah, it was just the two of us, but what's that got to do with anything?" "She was my girlfriend for a very long time. That's before I chose to spend the rest of my life with her." "Of course." I swallowed hard at those words. "We broke up a couple of times but quickly got back together within a week. We just couldn't stay away from each other." He said it with so much pride that it made my stomach twist. "So... why did you break up? Did you cheat on her?" He scoffed. "Not even once. That's how much I love her." "Then... was she one who cheated on you?" He laughed like I had just said something ridiculous. "It had nothing to do with cheating. She constantly disrespected my family and I couldn't stand that. She apologized each time, promising that she would change, but it was always the same thing and we broke up. It took her a while, but there came a day when she was ready to make a real change. That's one of the things I love about her. She eventually comes around." I chuckled bitterly. "And everyone believed her?" "Yup." He brought the glass to his lips and finally took a sip. "Including your sisters?" "Yup, they all adore her, especially my parents. Anyway," he paused to shift in his seat, "even when we were together, it's not everything that I could tell her. Certain things just didn't feel right. It had to be someone else." I raised my eyebrows. "There's no way you kept it all inside." He chuckled softly. "That's exactly what happened." 16:05 Tue, Sep 16 Chapter 40 36 55 vouchers "For real? You couldn't share it with anyone else? Come on. I know that apart from me, you had other friends." "I did, but they weren't you." He raised his head to look at me. "You knew everything about me, just like I knew everything about you. I wasn't just going to move on to someone else and start spilling all my secrets. That's why when you weren't there, I just decided to deal with shit on my own. It was hard, you know, going through everything alone and not getting a second opinion from anybody. I just did whatever my heart told me and because of that, I made a few wrong decisions along the way. I keep asking myself that had you been around, maybe you would have guided me to make better decisions." Fuck, my heart was pounding hard. I could even feel a slight tingle on my cheeks. I had to fake a chuckle to keep my composure. "Well, damn, you're making it sound like I'm supposed to be this wise person who gave the best advice." I gestured with my hand. "You really did. Just think about it, I only ever got solid advice from you and it always worked out." I internally scoffed. He always took my advice, except when it came to Tiffany. "I had so much going on with my family at that time and my sisters and I actually fell out at some point over some property left by my grandfather." I firmly shook my head. "I find that pretty hard to believe. You've always been so close." "Well, yeah, but sometimes things change, and that moment came. There were so many ways I wanted to handle that situation, but you weren't there with me." I smiled painfully. "You could've told me over the phone." "I know that we still called and texted, but I couldn't talk about it because it just felt like you shut me out, so how was I supposed to open up?" 田 Title: A Boyfriend on Loan, A Real Love on Way Author: CrushReels Genre: Romance, Modern Status: ongoing In "A Boyfriend on Loan, A Real Love on Way" by CrushReels, Felix Lloyd finds himself in a predicament as he seeks to pacify his family's marriage expectations by renting a girlfriend for the holiday season. However, a serendipitous airport mishap leads Kendal Scott, the wrong woman, into his life. As Felix and Kendal navigate this unexpected twist of fate, the novel delves into themes of familial pressure, mistaken identities, and the complexities of modern relationships. CrushReels intricately weaves together elements of romance and contemporary dilemmas to create a compelling narrative that resonates with readers seeking a blend of heartwarming moments and unforeseen connections. 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